THE SACRIFICE by Joyce Carol Oates

The November 2016 selection for the Contemporary Book Club

Finished Sa 11/12/16    Meeting on Wed. 11/16

The author's page at wikipedia-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joyce_Carol_Oates#Bibliography

Ernetta Frye- Sybilla's mother
Sybilla Frye- the rape 'victim'
Anis Shutte- Ernetta's husband and Sybilla's step-father
939 3rd St. Pascayne, NJ  No such town, but where the Frye's lived
Ada Furst- the teacher that found Sybilla in the abandoned food factory
Ines Iglesias- the female detective on the case. She was picked because Ernetta wanted a person of color, but Ines is a very light skinned Hispanic.
Pearline Tice- Sybilla's great-grandmother. Ernetta takes Sybilla to her home after the 'rape'. 'Sekewstered'.
Jaycee Handler- Sybilla's boyfriend. Ernetta doesn't know about him and would not approve. He is in a youth facility- Mountainview.

Byron Mudrick- lawyer and twin brother of Reverend Marus Mudrick
Marus is a flashy Black advocate, but probably more concerned about himself. Byron is his weak follower.
Klarinda is Byron's wife and she wants him to cut ties with Marus
Jerold (Jere) Zahn- the 'white cop' that Marus says committed the rape. He didn't, he's just a young man that probably doesn't belong in law enforcement.
Kimba Jacyznek- Jere's girlfriend for a time. She dumps him and he stalks her.
Leopaldo Quarrquan- the muslim leader; also a flashy Black civil rights proponent
Esmeraldo Mason- Black poet and writer. Sybilla and Ernetta live with her. Marus set it up
Julio Ramos- an assistant DA that's also accused of the incident
Feb. 1988 Sybilla converts to Islam and takes the name Aasia Muhamod
p. 266 Sybilla visits Mountainview
p. 79 Martine, Sybilla's friend, questions Sybilla about the incident. How could it have happened if you were seeing your boyfriend the next day?
p. 28o More evidence


I liked the book and the only thing that's missing is that the actual crime is never revealed. At the end, you know that Anis did the act, but the details are left to the imagination of the reader. But, I'm sure that Oates did this purposely because the story is about the 'fallout' and the effect on the characters. The actual event is secondary.